Senior Research Software Engineer (Training Specialist)

Australian National University; Canberra; On-site; AUD 124,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working arrangements

Inclusive workplace culture

World-class facilities

Job summary

Australian National University seeks a talented specialist to join the ACCESS-NRI User Training Team. You will enable researchers to use ACCESS software and data through technical training, documentation and user experience improvements.

Work includes collaboration with software engineers and scientists, across multiple activities to make workflows easier to learn, adopt and use, and to support a diverse user community.

Qualifications

• Experience or interest in climate science or related computational field.
• Ability to communicate across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Experience designing and delivering training for researchers and technical users.
• Ability to create clear, accessible technical documentation and learning materials.
• Understanding user needs and applying usability techniques.
• Planning, coordinating, and delivering projects in a collaborative research/technical environment.
• Familiarity with Python, Git/GitHub, and scientific computing workflows including reproducible research, open science, and FAIR principles.

Responsibilities

• Contribute across user enablement activities, including technical training, documentation, user support and community engagement.
• Collaborate with software engineers, research scientists and the ACCESS community to understand user workflows and identify improvement opportunities.
• Develop resources, processes and initiatives that make ACCESS software and data easier to learn, adopt and use.
• Engage with users to feedback and continuously improve user experience.
• Lead or contribute to multiple projects within the User Training Team.

Skills

Climate science

Training design

Documentation

User experience

Project coordination

Python/Git

Tools

Python

Git/GitHub

Job description

Classification: ANU Officer 8 (Specialist)

Salary package: $124,392– $133,017per annum, plus 17% superannuation

Term: Full-time, Fixed-term, until June 2028, with possibility of extension.

• Flexible working arrangements to encourage a healthy work/life balance, including consideration of part-time roles.
• Exceptional workplace culture with a supportive, diverse and inclusive team.
• Great work location with world-class staff amenities including gyms, swimming pool, childcare centres, etc.
• Excellent remuneration and conditions, including 17% superannuation contributions, annual leave loading and a range of benefits

In 1946, ANU was founded to help rebuild a changing world. We’re still at it, 80 years later. For generations, our people have turned curiosity into ideas that have shaped Australia and our region. Learn more about ANU, our history and the community that has shaped us: ANU at 80

About Us

ACCESS-NRI, Australia’s climate simulator, delivers world-class computer simulations for climate, weather and Earth systems, specifically designed for Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. ACCESS-NRI is a collaborative venture between Government agencies, partner Universities and the Australian research community to support development, maintenance and access to the national climate and weather models for researchers and decision makers. ACCESS-NRI is enabled by Australian Government investment through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Hosted at ANU, ACCESS-NRI aims to understand and predict Australia’s climate and weather to provide information that can be used to safeguard Australia’s future.

At the heart of ACCESS is a community of Research Software Engineers with a range of skills including high performance computing and data (HPCD), climate and Earth system model development, advanced visualisation, model optimisation, code repository management, model evaluation and data management. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the intersection of earth system models, climate change and high-performance computing and data to help address major challenges facing society.

The Role

We are seeking a talented individual to join the ACCESS-NRI User Training Team. This team sits at the intersection of research software, climate science, and community engagement to enable researchers to use ACCESS climate modelling software effectively.

The User Training Team works across a diverse range of user-facing activities, including technical training, documentation, user support, user experience and community engagement, internship coordination, and other initiatives that improve how researchers discover, learn, and use ACCESS software and data.

In this role, you will contribute across many of these areas, working closely with software engineers, research scientists, and the broader ACCESS community to understand user workflows, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop resources, processes, and initiatives that make ACCESS software, data, workflows, and other outputs easier to learn, adopt, and use. You will also contribute to understanding how researchers and other users interact with ACCESS software and resources, using user feedback and engagement activities to continuously improve the user experience.

This role involves collaborating across multiple teams and disciplines while taking ownership of a range of projects and initiatives within the User Training Team. You will have the opportunity to contribute ideas, identify opportunities for improvement, and help shape how ACCESS-NRI supports and engages its user community.

We are looking for someone who enjoys working with both software and research communities, is comfortable learning new technologies and scientific concepts, and can communicate complex ideas clearly to a range of audiences. Experience with every aspect of the role is less important than curiosity, initiative, flexibility, and a willingness to contribute across a broad range of user enablement activities.

What you’ll bring

Background, interest or experience in one or more of the following areas would be valuable:

• Scientific research, particularly in climate science or a related computational field
• Communicating and working effectively across multiple disciplines with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Designing and delivering training for researchers and technical users.
• Creating clear, accessible technical documentation and learning materials that support software adoption and effective use.
• Understanding user needs and user-centred design via usability activities
• Planning, coordinating, and delivering projects in a collaborative research or technical environment.
• Familiarity with Python, Git/GitHub, and scientific computing workflows, including an understanding of reproducible research, open science, and FAIR principles.

Experience or familiarity with any of the following would also be beneficial:

• Running climate models and/or working with climate model output in a research context
• Linux/Unix, HPC, cloud or hybrid computing environments
• Documentation platforms and generation (e.g. Read the Docs, Markdown)
• Large and complex scientific datasets, including data formats and analysis tools such as NetCDF, Xarray, Dask, and CF conventions.
• Supporting research or software communities through workshops, forums, user support, or other community-facing activities.

The areas above are provided as examples of relevant experience and are not formal selection criteria. Applicants should respond directly to the formal selection criteria in the Position Description, using the examples above as guidance when considering how their experience, skills and transferable knowledge may align with the role.

We recognise that candidates will bring different combinations of skills and experiences, and no applicant is expected to meet every example listed above. We strongly encourage applications from people with relevant or transferable experience, including those whose backgrounds may not align exactly with the examples provided.

For further information, please contact Paige Martin (Team Lead, User Training) on E: [e-mail].

The University actively encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For more information on employment opportunities at the ANU, visit https://services.anu.edu.au/human-resources/respect-inclusion/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-employment.

ANU values diversity and inclusion and believes employment opportunities must not be limited by socio-economic background, race, religion or gender. For more information about staff equity at ANU, visit https://services.anu.edu.au/human-resources/respect-inclusion

The preferred candidate must have rights to live and work in Australia and will be required to complete mandatory pre-employment declarations and background checks relevant to the role they have applied for, in accordance with the Background Checking Procedure and the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence.